Blatche struggles but Gilas blows past Talk ’N Text

Naveen Ganglani

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Blatche struggles but Gilas blows past Talk ’N Text
Terrence Romeo and Jayson Castro lead the way in the national team’s win

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine men’s national basketball team opened their campaign in the 2015 MVP Cup with an easy victory over the undermanned Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters, 93-77, on Friday, September 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Even with naturalized Filipino big man Andray Blatche misfiring for most of the game and playing out of shape, the national team received more than enough production from the rest of their players to establish a double-digit lead in the third quarter and cruise to the victory.

It felt a little bit like a scrimmage to me,” said Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin after the game.

“We were a little bit upset in the first half with our defensive intensity. It didn’t feel like international basketball to us. I think we shaped that up a bit in the third quarter and improved defensively.”

Gilas used a 24-12 third quarter to extend their 5-point halftime led to 17 entering the fourth. It was a no contest the rest of the way, with Terrence Romeo hitting big shots down the stretch to keep the Tropang Texters at bay.

The GlobalPort star finished with 22 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds, while Jayson Castro was impressive with 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

“Terrence played well. He was efficient, creative. It was the real good Terrence we had tonight. He hit his shots and didn’t turn the ball over, but generally our offense flowed pretty well tonight,” said Baldwin.

The one disappointing sight for Gilas was the play of Blatche, who finished with 12 points but shot 28% from the field and just 1-of-8 from downtown.

It was the former NBA player’s first game with the national squad after leaving the team to attend his uncle’s funeral and take care of his ailing mother prior to the Jones Cup.

“Andray didn’t hit his shots, but it’s coming… and he’s got to shoot his way into shape and run his way into shape, so that’s why we left him out there for the minutes that we did,” said Baldwin.

“He’ll shoot the ball better than he shot it tonight,” the 57-year-old head coach later said. “His transition isn’t there yet. He’s really not running the lanes for us, but one thing that you don’t see a lot with Andray is his defensive intelligence.”

“He anchors the middle of our defense and he gives us that big presence that we didn’t have in the Jones Cup,” said Baldwin.

Ranidel de Ocampo also played well with 12 points while Calvin Abueva put up 8 points and grabbed 7 boards.

Leading Talk ’N Text was Larry Fonacier, who put up 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists, while 2015 PBA Draft top overall pick Moala Tautuaa registered 16 points and 2 boards in his first appearance wearing a Talk ’N Text uniform.

The number two pick in the draft, Troy Rosario, finished with just 5 points.

Talk ‘N Text, which won last season’s Commissioner’s Cup title, was a late replacement for Lebanon, which withdrew its team earlier this month. 

The Tropang Texters weren’t fielding their complete lineup since Castro, De Ocampo, and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, all of whom plays for Talk ’N Text in the PBA, were in uniform for Gilas.

The Philippine team will be back in action on Saturday, September 12, when they face the Wellington Saints from New Zealand, whom they beat in the Jones Cup.

I think New Zealand wants to win the tournament so we should get a tough contest from them tomorrow night,” said Baldwin, who later added:

“This is a team that simulates Iran a little bit, China a little bit because of their size and skilled point guard, and it’s the kind of test we want for those kinds of games.”

The Tropang Texters, on the other hand, will battle with Chinese Taipei, who got blown out by the Saints on Friday.

All statistics above are courtesy of fibalivestats– Rappler.com

 

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!